A Different Meeting
by Abductee42
Summary: What if Scully and Mulder had met in high school before they were assigned together? Probably better than it sounds. Rated T for later chapters, and because I'm paranoid.
1. New School

"Dana! Wake up!" yelled a voice. Dana grabbed a pillow from her bed and threw it towards the yell.

"go away, Melissa. I'm _tired!_" she complained sleepily.

"I won't. Mom says to get up and get ready. You_ do_ remember what today is, don't you?" Melissa added when dana didn't move.

_Oh yeah, I forgot. New school day again, _dana thought dismally. _My favourite thing ever._

She opened her eyes, staring up at her ceiling. The glow in the dark stars she'd hung last night glowed faintly, reminding her of her old room. She crawled out of bed and got dressed. As she was heading towards the stairs, she ran into her older brother Bill.

"Dana, were you actually planning on going to school in that outfit?" he enquired, pointing out her tight jeans and David Bowie shirt.

"Yeah. Why?" she responded, trying to get to the stairs, but Bill refused to budge.

"dana, that shirt is old and ripped, and those jeans are too tight. Go change. It's not like dad would let you out in that, either," he added when she hesitated.

She glowered at him, then headed back into her room, quickly changing into a black turtleneck and a black peasant skirt with silver embroidery.

"Better?" she asked, and headed down the stairs without waiting for an answer.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
>Once she was downstairs, she quietly walked towards the dining room and looked in. Her father, William Scully, had his back to her and was talking to her mother, Maggie. Catching her younger brother's eye, she held her finger to her lips. Charlie's eyes widened and he nodded, understanding immediately.<p>

Quickly, Dana snuck up behind her father, and threw her arms around his neck.

"Good morning, Ahab!" she cried, and kissed him on the cheek, while Charlie and her mother started laughing.

"Good morning, Starbuck!" he responded, and hugged her back.

Bill and Melissa walked in. "Why's everyone laughing?" asked Bill.

"No reason. Dana was just being silly," responded Maggie. "Sit down and eat. I want to talk to you four about the driving arrangements. Bill, your father and I have decided that you will drive Charlie to the middle school in the morning before you go to the high school, and Melissa will take Dana straight there. How does that sound?"

"Ok," they all chorused, and continued eating.

"Are you all excited about your first day of school?" asked Mr. Scully.

"Yes!" responded three of them. Dana, however, was less than enthusiastic.

"I'd much rather continue to be homeschooled. I don't see why we have to go to school."

"Oh, Dana," sighed Melissa. "You're so _boring_! It'll be fun, I promise you. High school is much better than middle, you'll see."

Dana rolled her eyes and ignored her sister.

"May I be excused?" she asked, finishing her toast and pushing back her chair. Her mother nodded, and Dana stood up.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
>Stuffing her textbooks in her bag, Dana hummed David Bowie's "Starman" to herself. Her black cat, Natasha, rubbed against her hand, purring loudly.<p>

"Why're you so nice all of a sudden, Natasha?" Dana asked the cat. She picked her up and pressed her face into the soft fur. The rumbling purr and soft, musty smell helped calm her butterflies, and she began to think that maybe, just maybe, this might not be the worst thing ever. Dana sighed and put the cat down.

Turning back to her bag, she noticed her copy of Moby Dick lying on her desk. Snatching it up, she carefully placed it in the bag on top of the textbooks. _Maybe I'll have some free time to read today. Better safe than sorry!_

She closed the bag, slung it over her shoulder, and walked downstairs.

"Dana?" called her mother.

"I'm coming!"

"Have a good day at school, kids!" Maggie said as she gently shoved them out the door.

Charlie gave Dana a hug before climbing into Bill's pickup.

"Don't worry, Dana. Everyone will love you! You're awesome!" he said reassuringly.

"What makes you think I'm worried, Charlie? Anyway, I hope that they don't _all_ love me. That would give Bill too much to do!" she joked.

Charlie grinned at Bill's frown.

"Come on, Charlie-boy!" Bill said. "We don't want you late for your first day of seventh grade, now do we?"

Charlie hopped in the truck and waved as Bill drove off.

"Come on, Dana! I'd like to get to school early so we can meet people before classes start!" Melissa grinned and pulled Dana towards the beat-up, midnight blue Bug on the other side of the driveway.

"I'm coming, Melissa! You don't have to drag me!" she said, and climbed into the car.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
>Melissa pulled into a spot by the front of the main school building.<p>

"Come on, Danes!" she said. "Out you get!"

She shut off the engine and hopped out. Dana opened her door and grabbed her bag. Nervously, she followed her sister up the steps, ignoring the curious glances they generated from the long-haired guys sitting on the stairs. She and Melissa walked into the building and up to the front desk.

"Hi, I'm Melissa Scully and this is my sister Dana. We were told to come to the desk to get our schedules?" Melissa told the secretary.

"Ok, sweetie. Let's see… Ah yes. Here you go. Have a good day, dears!" She handed them each a piece of paper.

"Thank you!" Melissa said, and led her sister away.

"What classes do you have, Dana?" she asked.

"First period, AP Chem, second, Pre-AP English II, third, Pre-AP Bio, fourth, Pre-AP World Geo, then lunch. Then, for fifth I have Latin II, sixth, Algebra II, and then some sort of introductory band thing. You?"

"I should have known you'd take all those advanced classes, Dana," Melissa commented. "I have English III, AP Physics, American History, Pre-Cal, lunch, study hall, Japanese IV, and Art II."

As they walked into the cafeteria, they were attacked by a wall of sound. Dana tried to turn back, but Melissa grabbed her arm.

"Come on, Dana! It's not that bad. Lets go find some people to hang out with, ok?"

Dana shook her head. "You go, I'll stay here. If people want to talk to me, they can come and do so, but I won't go and bother them. Go on, I'll be fine!" she added, seeing her sister hesitate.

"Ok, Dana, if you're sure. I'll see you at lunch, ok?"

"Sure, Melissa."

Dana sat down in a nearby chair and put her head down on her arms.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
>Fox Mulder sat and watched the door to the cafeteria. Supposedly, three siblings, a boy and two girls, were starting today, and he was hoping to catch a glimpse of them. After a few minutes, his vigilance was rewarded and two girls with auburn hair stepped in. The taller one had on a pair of black jeans and a t-shirt bearing the slogan "All Things Must Pass" with a little garden gnome underneath, while her sister was wearing a tight ribbed black turtleneck and a black skirt with silver embroidery.<p>

As he watched, the girl in black tried to turn and leave, but after talking to her sister for a few moments, sat down in a chair, and rested her head in her arms. Her sister walked off in search, Mulder guessed, of different company.

_She looks lonely, _Mulder thought, his gaze drifting back to the girl in black. He stood up and strode towards the table she sat at.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
>Lost in her thoughts, Dana didn't notice the tall, dark-haired boy till he started speaking.<p>

"Hey, I'm Fox Mulder. I saw you walk in just now, and I thought I'd come and bother you."

Dana quickly lifted her head from her arms.  
>"Hi," she said, so quietly that, in the noisy room, he had to lean down to hear her. "I'm Dana Scully. It's nice to meet you, Fox."<p>

He grimaced. "Call me Mulder, Dana. Fox is a terrible name." He sat down next to her. "Can I call you Scully? I had an evil baby sitter who made me call her Dana, so, bad memories, you know?"

"Sure." She smiled slightly at the strange boy. She had no idea why he had decided to come and 'bother' her, but she didn't mind. He seemed nice.

"So, Dana, what grade are you in?" he asked. "I'm a sophomore."

"Freshman," she replied, and grimaced. "But I'm taking a lot of higher classes."

"That's cool! What do you have first?" he asked, grinning.

"AP Chem."

"Great! That's my first class! I'll show you where it is."

"Thank you, Mulder. I'm glad I won't get lost immediately."

Suddenly, the bell rang, loud enough to make Scully jump.

"Come on, Scully!" Mulder held his hand out to help her up. As they walked towards the door, he placed his hand on the small of her back to guide her through the crowd.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I forgot to put the disclaimer in the last one, so here it is.

**DISCLAIMER: ** Nope, don't own it. If I did, there'd be more movies, and I wouldn't be writing fanfictions.

And I know this has been written a million times, but no-one ever finished it with them meeting again, so I wanted to put this out there.

Also, italics are their thoughts.

Mulder opened the chemistry lab door and held it as Scully walked through. He carefully weaved through the tables arranged in rows around the room, leading her to an empty spot at the end of one of the middle rows.

"I managed to snag the only table without anyone else sitting at it this year, so I guess we'll share." He smiled down at her and sat down.

When she reached for her textbook, he grabbed her hand to stop her. "Don't get your book out unless he tells you to. We don't always use it. Mr. Donovan's different than your average teacher, you'll see."

Absent-mindedly, he ran his thumb across her knuckles. When he noticed her blush, he quickly let go of her hand. _I didn't realize I was still holding her hand._

"Here comes Mr. Donovan!" he whispered. A young, energetic man burst into the room, grinning like a loon. He had dark, unruly hair and pale skin.

"Hello and good morning!" he cried happily.  
>"Hi!" "Hello!" "Ciao!" "Konichiwa!" Gutentag!" Salve!" Priveyt!" cried the class in reply.<p>

_Why is everyone yelling in tongues? _wondered Scully. Her confusion must have registered on her face, because Mulder leaned over. "Every month, he assigns us a non-chemistry related thing to do, for fun. This month is greet him every morning in a language other than your first. Not everyone does them, but most of us do."

"I see we have a new student today," Mr. Donovan interrupted.

"Yep!" replied Mulder. "This is Dana Scully. She's a freshman."

"Hello, Dana. Would you please come up to the front of the class? We're going to play a game!" announced Mr. Donovan.

"Ok, sir," she said, standing and walking to the front. Mr. Donovan tied a blindfold around her head.

"Dana, for this game, I will ask you to pick a number between one and six, to represent a row of chairs. Then you will point out towards the class, and whoever in the chosen row you point towards will ask you a question. You can only choose a row once, and we'll go through all six. Do you get it?"

"Yes sir," she nodded.

"Ok, any number now."

"Six." She pointed towards her left.

"Sophia, do you have a question?" Mr. Donovan asked.

"Dana, what school did you go to for the last two months?"

"I didn't. I moved two or three times over the summer, and we were never settled down long enough to enroll at a school. My mom taught me and my siblings at home."

"Cool! Was it fun?"

"Yeah, I enjoyed it, but my siblings hated it."

"Next number, Dana?"

"One."

"Robert Smith."

"Dana, you got a boyfriend?" jeered Robert. His voice grated on Scully's ears, irritating her.

"No," she replied haughtily. "Five," she added, giving him no time to respond.

"Do you move often?"

"Yeah. My dad's in the Navy. Two."

"Hi, Dana! My names Angua Romulus. Where was the place you lived the longest?"

"Japan. We lived there for a few years when I was little. I don't remember it much, though. Four?"

"Is there a reason you're wearing all black?"

"Yes. My brother monitors my wardrobe, and this was the only thing he deemed modest enough for the first day of school." This brought a laugh from the class. "And row three?" She pointed in the direction she knew Mulder was sitting.

"What is your opinion on extra-terrestrials?" he asked quietly. The class groaned in unison.

"Do you mean in general, or specifically that they visit us?"

"Both."

"I believe that, while there may be life other places in the universe, but I highly doubt that a species advanced enough to make its way here would not spend its time making tabloid headlines." She reached up and untied the headband and walked back to her seat.

As she sat down, Mulder leaned over and whispered, "Good answer, Scully."

Mulder spent the rest of the period doodling in his notebook and absentmindedly taking notes. Before he knew it, class was over. He and Scully stood up, and Sophia and Angua walked over.

"Hey, Dana!" they chorused in unison. "Robert's a bit of a jerk, isn't he?" added Sophia.

"Everyone tried to fix his rudeness when he first moved here in middle school, but he's stuck," finished Angua.

Mulder turned to Scully. "What class have you got next?" he asked her, ignoring the girls.

"Pre-AP English II. Do you know where it is?"

"Of course he does! He's in that class, too!" Angua and Sophia responded before Mulder could reply.

_Those girls get on my nerves. They're nice and all, but they are __creepy__! They always finish each other's sentences, or worse, talk in unison._

"Yep! Come on, Scully. We don't want to be late." He grabbed her bag from the table.

"Hey! Give it back! I can carry it!" she exclaimed, trying to take the bag from him.

"So can I, and I got it first. Do you know your locker number?" he asked, changing the subject.

"No."

"Ok, well, you can put your bag in mine for now. You don't want to drag that thing around with you all day. When's your lunch period?"

"Fourth. Yours?"

"Same. Most of us have that one. The seniors are usually the only ones who have third period lunch. We can ask about your locker then." He stopped in front of his locker. "Here we go. Just grab a composition book and a writing implement, and shove your bag on the top shelf."

As she was reaching in her bag, Mulder noticed her reading material. "You like Moby Dick?" he asked.

"Yeah, my dad read it to me all the time when I was little." She closed her bag.

_She really is small,_ Mulder thought as she struggled to get her bag to stay on the shelf.

"Here, Scully," he said, and, grabbing the bag, shoved it on.

"Thanks, Mulder."

"Now come along, Scully. Class is down this hall!" he called over his shoulder as he ran along, dragging her in his wake.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry I didn't update again last week. I got an electric guitar for my birthday, and my fingers only recovered enough to type this up today =].

Disclaimer: I am only borrowing them, Chris Carter. But if anyone with the rights wants to give them to me… I won't complain!

Mulder dragged Scully through an open door and into the English classroom. She looked around her in surprise. Instead of the usual desks and chairs she had expected to find, there were pillows and beanbags scattered around the floor, and a stack of clipboards in the center.

"Is this the right room?" she asked Mulder.

He looked around him for a moment. "Huh? Oh, the cushions. A lot of the Pre-AP and AP teachers have a…different method of teaching. It can take some getting used to, but it's cool!" He plopped down on a giant black beanbag and patted it invitingly. "Sit down! I don't bite, Scully," he added when she hesitated.

She sat gingerly on the edge of the bag, ready to jump up if the teacher told her to.

"Come on, Scully, relax. Most of the kids sit on each other's laps. No one is going to get annoyed if you just sit _next_ to me!" He placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back so she was leaning against the beanbag. "There, that's better." He pulled out a book from a pocket on the side of the seat.

"Pushkin?" she asked, looking at the cover.

"Yeah. The class is reading The Captain's Daughter just now. You read it?"

"Of course! I love Pushkin."

The door opened, and a bunch of students poured into the room, jabbering like a flock of jays, and sat down on the numerous cushions. Scully stiffened as a tall, blond girl strode confidently across the room to them.

"Hey, Fox, who's this?" The girl looked down at Scully as if she was a piece of gum stuck to her shoe, causing her to look down nervously.

"Hey, Sandra," Mulder said warily. "This is Dana Scully. Scully, this is Sandra Smith, Robert's twin sister." He closed his book and sat up. "What do you want, Sandra?"

"Nothing!" She walked away.

"Sorry about her, Scully. She and Robert are both stupid, spoiled, brats."

"Mkay." Mulder smiled down at her and placed his arm around her shoulders, causing her to stiffen at the contact. Instead of moving his arm, however, he traced a circle on her arm until she relaxed into his one-armed embrace.

Mulder grinned to himself when he felt her relax, and he grinned even wider when he pulled her closer without her stiffening up again.

Suddenly, the door flew open. An older woman stepped in, wearing so many scarves and shawls, that you couldn't tell what she was wearing underneath them all.

"Mrs. Fredericka!" cried the class excitedly.

"Hello, pets! And call me Fred!" She beamed down at them all. "Are we ready to write?" She sat down in the only real furniture in the room, a soft red armchair.

"Of course, Fred!" was the enthusiastic response from the rest of the class.

"Fred?" called Mulder. "This is Dana Scully. She's a new student. What'll we do with her?" He shoved her up out of the seat.

"Hello, lamb. So you're the new girl? Well, I'm glad you and Mulder found each other. Has he taken good care of you, or does he need a punishment?" asked Mrs. Fredericka.


	4. Chapter 4

Mulder jumped up, pretending to be angry. "How could I not take care of her?" he asked indignantly.

Fred grinned. "I'm only teasing, dear. Now, Dana, we've been working on short stories. Have you written many?"

"Yes, Mrs. Fredericka," she replied quietly.

Mulder sprawled out on the beanbag, and, with the rest of the class, cried, "Call her Fred!"

Scully flushed, and Mulder immediately felt guilty for upsetting her.

"Well then, dear, how about you get to work?" Scully nodded and sat down by Mulder, smiling shyly at the teacher. _Wow, her smile's gorgeous! _he thought.

"Mulder?" she prodded his shoulder, breaking his train of thought. "Are all the teachers here like Mrs.- I mean Fred and Mr. Donovan?"

"Nah, some are horrible flesh-eating monsters," he quipped, trying to make her smile again. "Now you'd better get writing!" He picked up his pencil and got to work.

Scully wrote furiously for the next half hour, until Fred called, "Ok, everyone! Trade notebooks and we'll do some peer editing."

Mulder handed her his notebook and grabbed hers.

"Mine sucks. I may _read_ literature, but I sure as hell don't write it."

"Same here," she responded, and opened his notebook.

A/N: I am sorry I haven't posted for forever, and that this is so short. I have a lot of stuff going on, lots of science competitions and stuff, so I don't have time to type! I will probably have some more on Friday; I'm driving to A&M for a competition, and it's a two hour drive, so I'll have plenty of time to work! Reviews make me want to keep writing! Unless they're flames; those just aren't nice.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: HI! I'm so sorry for not having updated this for a while, I've had concerts and my one final(Pre AP Bio) taking up my time, as well as a complicated breakup and taking too many languages: Latin, Ancient Greek, and Russian, so I don't actually have any free time. Next week I don't have to do school for a week, before we start summer schedule, so I hopefully will be able to post another chapter. Also, if the text looks weird, I had to type it up on Notepad. Now that I've ranted at you, here's the story!  
>DISCLAIMER: If The X Files was mine, I wouldn't have only three guitars and a crappy flute.<p>

Scully began to read Mulder's short story.

Are There Aliens?  
>By F.W. Mulder<p>

"Father, are aliens real?" asked the young boy.  
>"Of course they're real, silly," replied the father.<br>"What do they look like?"  
>"Well, I've never seen one, but they're said to be weird and hairless, with delicate pink skin that burns on contact with undiluted starlight. They're such fragile creatures."<br>"Is that how we conquered their planet? They couldn't fight in the starlight?"  
>"Yes. Why are you so interested in these aliens? There haven't been any seen for centuries,<br>except in the zoos," questioned the father.  
>"My teacher says we're going to have an alien in school with us tomorrow. She says that alien children deserve an education just as much as us, and that it will do us good to learn about the semi-sentient species that used to occupy this planet."<br>"Your teacher has radical opinions. Most say that they have only a very low intellegence. They are only capable of learning the very basics of our language, and are good for nothing more than hard labour and experiments."  
>"Father, what is the proper name for the aliens? Teacher told us, but it sounded so strange,<br>I couldn't remember."  
>"Well, their name for themselves is-"<br>"Its time to eat!" called a voice from inside the house.  
>"Come on, we'd best not keep your mother waiting. I'll tell you later."<p>

The next day

The boy walked into his classroom eagerly, excited about the arrival of the new species. Suddenly, the teacher walked in.  
>"Class, here is your new friend. His name is Pouwl, and he will be learning with us from now on."<br>The class chorused hello to the strange creature, who only grunted in reply. His small, brown eyes looked out from a hairless, blank face, made hideous by the masses of pink skin,  
>uncovered by fur, except on his head, whic, thankfully, was modestly covered with shaggy,<br>dark hair.  
>"Pouwl doesn't speak our language," continued the teacher. "So we'll have to help him learn,<br>as well as try to learn a bit of his." Her smile seemed somewhat forced, noted the boy, as if the welcoming session was not going as well as she had hoped. Most of the class was staring openly and the monstrosity, and it was becoming anxious.  
>"Teacher?" he asked, raising his hand. "What is the proper name for Pouwl's species again?"<br>She smiled slightly at the boy.  
>"Pouwl is a member of the h-oo-mn race, my dear, and sadly, there are only a few thousand left, because of their inablility to survive the harsh conditions that they themselves created."<br>The End

Scully smiled slightly at the ending, then wrote a few notes in the margins. When she looked up, she noticed Mulder watching her.  
>"what do you think? Terrible, huh?" he asked wryly, smiling at her.<br>She shook her head. "I liked it, Mulder. It was funny! You probably could have had less hints, though. I sorta guessed before the big reveal." She smiled lightly at him.  
>"Ok, thanks! Fred?"<br>"Yes, Mulder?" she asked.  
>"May I read Scully's aloud?"<br>"Ok, go ahead." Fred smiled indulgently at him.  
>As he stood up, holding her notebook, Scully buried her face in the beanbag.<p>

Night Feast

Dana Scully

Booming bass

punctures their eardrums

blinding them to what's real

I don't hear it anymore

too many nights here

Wailing feedback

a flash of colour in the dark of the noise

I don't hear the song

but view it in my minds eye

a different sort of life

I choose our next victim

one who hears, not sees

soon, she won't feel at all, either

maybe, if I'm lucky

she'll turn out like me

not like them

the others, dead to the noise

The Music

takes on a life of its own

pulls you into its grasp

Thank you for coming to the show

its been fun, but we need a drink

he smiles, I see his teeth

pure white, so sharp

its my signal to spring

I wrap my fingers round her neck

squeeze, kill her breath

we don't need her screams

Quietly, we drag her away

we'll be gone by morning

so will she

we need a new singer

a girl this time

the Music demands, and we obey

her parents won't worry

we'll send along a dark one

to take her place

they'll never know the difference

We gather round her

prepare to feast

she moves, awakening too soon

Opening her eyes, she smiles

says

I'm glad you found me

I want to come

she is different than the others

they scream when we begin our feast

she only smiles

When Mulder stopped reading, the class was silent for a moment, then applauded politely.  
>Scully felt his hand on her shoulder and pulled her face from the pillow.<br>"You write very well, Dana," beams Fred. "You should be proud."  
>Scully smiled. "Thank you, Fred," she said quietly.<br>"Ok class. For tomorrow, finish The Captain's Daughter. We'll discuss it together in class."  
>Everyone jumped up and left the room. Mulder grabbed her hand and pulled her roughly to her feet.<br>"Where to next, Scully?" he asked as they made their way back to his locker.  
>"Pre-AP Biology."<br>He hit his forehead. "I forgot you're a freshman. I guess I've got to get used to not taking you with me everywhere. What about after that?"  
>"World Geography."<br>He sighed. "Well, at least my next two classes are by yours. I can at least make sure you get to class on time and in one piece. Just wait in your classrooms till I come get you, we don't want you getting lost."  
>"I won't, don't worry. I have no wish to get lost in here. Its HUGE!" She smiled at him, surprised, but glad that he was being so helpful and considerate, then hurried to keep up with him as he led her down the hall once again <p>

A/N: I want to thank everyone who's reviewed and alerted and favourited my story, and who reminded me that I need to put up another chapter. Both of the stories are actually things I wrote a few months ago, and decided to use, which is why Scully's story seems a bit OOC. I thought Mulder's fit him rather well, though.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hi again. I convinced my mom that I should be allowed to type stuff after finishing 4 subjects, so here I am again!  
>DISCLAIMER: Yes, X Files IS mine. That's why there are 24 seasons and 5 movies now. Didn't you know?<p>

And anything between two *s is someone's thoughts. Just thought that might be important.

*Ugh. I hate World History. I can't wait to get out of this class.* Mulder sat in his seat, twitching impatiently as he watched the minute hand on the clock, waiting for the bell. As soon as it rang, he jumped out of his chair and raced to the door, shoving his way through his classmates, who were all pushing to be the first out.

He hurried down the hall towards the World Geography classroom. When he reached the classroom, he noticed that everyone was still writing, and he took the opportunity to study Scully.

*She looks so quiet and delicate, but I can tell she's pretty fiery when you get to know her. And she's smart,  
>too.*<p>

He moved away from the door as the class, sans Scully, surged out. Once they were gone, he stuck his head in the doorway.

"Come on, Scully!" he called. She smiled at him and grabbed her bag. Standing up, she headed towards the door, but before she reached him, the teacher called her and she turned around.

"Yes, Mr. Karliter?"

"I expect you to have that paper ready to be handed in tomorrow, Miss Scully. If you cannot handle the work,  
>I shall have to send you to the non Pre-AP class."<br>"Yes, sir," she responded resignedly, and walked out the door.  
>"What did I tell you about monsters?" Mulder asked quietly, leaning against the door frame. "Why did he sound so pissed?"<br>"The rest of the class had a paper due at the end of class, and I didn't know. They had the entire weekend to work on it, and because I only found out today, he was annoyed."  
>"Jerk," Mulder said feelingly. "Ah well, Scully. Cheer up, its time for lunch!" He grinned at her. "Bring or buy?"<br>"Brought. My mom believes school lunches are unhealthy, and I agree with her."  
>"Ok, well, I've got to buy, but we'll stop by the lockers so you can grab yours first." He grinned at her and headed down the hall. Once they reached his locker, she grabbed her lunch, and Mulder lead her down a flight of stairs to the cafeteria.<br>"Thanks for making sure I get to my classes, Mulder," she said as he let them through the double doors and into the loud, stark white room.  
>"No problem, Scully. You want anything?"<br>"Hmm?" she questioned, confused.  
>"Anything from the cafeteria," he explained. "Ice cream? Pie? A salad?" he added, thinking that maybe she was a health food nut.<br>She looked indecisive. "Look, Scully. How 'bout you come through with me, and if you see anything, I'll get it for you. Sound all right?"  
>"You don't need to get me anything, Mulder," she said hanging back, and looking like she was going to go find a seat.<br>"Nope, I don't, but I can," he responded, grabbing her arm and turning her around. "Come on, Scully. My parents always give me too much money for lunch, anyway. And they worry if I don't use it," he lied, knowing his parents couldn't care less. *But they DO give me too much money.*  
>"Ok, if you're sure," she said hesitantly, and followed him to the end of the line.<br>"Scully, if I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have asked you." "Hey, Mulder! Who's the girl?" called a voice, causing Mulder to turn away from Scully.  
>"Hey, Tony!" He waved the owner of the voice, a tall, gangly guy with light blonde hair over. "Scully, this is Tony Ziward. Tony, this is Dana Scully."<br>"I'm surprised at your speed, Mulder. I wouldn't have thought you'd have ALREADY stolen the new girl," he joked. "You've got to give the rest of us a change!"  
>"Sorry, Robert was trying to move in on her, and we couldn't let THAT happen. Do you blame me?" he grinned at his friend."<br>"Course not, Mulder. Its nice to meet you, Dana. Or do you, like Mulder, prefer to be referred to by your last name?" Tony said, turning to Scully and holding out his hand.  
>"Its nice to meet you, too, Tony. And Dana is fine." She smiled, and shook Tony's offered hand.<br>"Well, then, Dana, why are you in the lunch line if you have one already?" Tony inquired, and gestured to her lunch bag.  
>"I'm forcing her to let me buy her something for dessert or something," Mulder cut in. He surreptitiously moved closer to Scully. No matter how much he liked Tony, the guy was a serious flirt, and Mulder would be damned if he would stand for it. "Anyway, what about you? You've got yours already, too."<br>"Just came over to say hi. See you too later!" He headed off towards a table.  
>"So, Scully, got any siblings?" Mulder asked, from a lack of anything else to say.<br>"Three, Bill, Melissa, and Charlie. Bill's a senior, Melissa's a junior. Charlie is the baby, he's only in 7th grade. Melissa's probably wondering where I am. I told her I'd eat lunch with her and Bill. What about you? You have any siblings?"  
>"If Bill's a senior, he probably doesn't have lunch this period," he said, ignoring her question. Luckily for him, she let the matter drop. "See anything you want?" he added as they walked into the the separate serving room attached to the lunch room. She glanced at the rack of desserts, filled with cookies and pie and cake. "Not really, Mulder."<br>"There's an icebox over there with frozen stuff in it," he said, inclining his head towards the corner. "See if there's anything you'd like in there." He grabbed a tray and plopped some pizza on it.  
>-<p>

Scully walked over to the box and peered inside. *Why is he trying to get me to let him buy me something?* she wondered, as she grabbed a Dreamsicle. *He's almost being TOO nice.*  
>"Do you want anything from here, Mulder?" she asked.<br>"Nope. I'm going to have cheesecake!"(A/N Cheesecake is amazing. Just saying)  
>She set her Dreamsicle down on the tray and they walked to the cashier.<br>"That all?" the hairnetted woman asked briskly.  
>"Yup."<br>"Name?" she questioned.  
>Mulder responded with mock outrage. "You know my name, Moll!" he cried.<br>"Of course I do, but I AM required to ask. Who's your friend?" she added, smiling at Scully.  
>"Moll, this is Dana Scully, whom I am escorting through the school on her first day. Scully, this is Molly Smith. She was the nicest babysitter ever!" he grinned.<br>"Hi, Molly, its nice to meet you."  
>"Call me Moll, Dana. Everyone does. Now, why'd youbring her back with you, Mulder? You can't have done it just so she could meet ME."<br>"Buying her the Dreamsicle, Moll," he responded.  
>"I see," she said, winkning at Mulder. "Well, have a nice day!" she said, as Mulder paid and they walked out.<p>

A/N: Still using NOTEPAD. So I can't spellcheck. Thanks for reading! Any any reviews revealing errors, in grammar, spelling, or characterization are greatly appreciated!


	7. Chapter 7

AND I'm back again! I am totally addicted to writing now, and I'm making up for not updating. Things will go back to normal once we start summer school schedule and I don't have endless free time.

Mulder led Scully out of the cafeteria and back into the hall. "So, Scully, where shall we eat?" he asked.

"Mulder, I already told you, my siblings are expecting me to eat with them," she complained halfheartedly. She didn't actually mind his leading her around and "forcing" her to stay with him, but she knew that Bill, overprotective Bill, would worry if she didn't show.

"Come on, Scully. You eat with them every day. Let me have the pleasure for once?" he asked, bowing and pretending to sweep a hat off his head, making her laugh.

"Mulder, Bill and Melissa are expecting me!" she said through her giggles.

"Bill's a senior, right? He doesn't even have lunch this period. And your sister is the girl you walked in with this morning? I saw her with a bunch of other girls. Seriously, lighten up and come keep me company!" he begged, only half joking.

"Ok, fine, Mulder. But aren't we supposed to eat in the cafeteria?" she asked worriedly as he whisked her off down the hall.

"Supposedly, but even the monster teachers don't care." He kept on walking.

"...Ok, if you're sure,? she answered warily, before following him down the hall to the doors leading out.

"Of course I'm sure!" He walked outside, and Scully trailed after him, trying to keep up, and wondering why it was so important that they get wherever they were going so FAST.

When Mulder finally stopped walking, he was standing in front of a wooden fence, behind which was a small patch of evergreen woods.

"Dana Scully, welcome to the Alcove!" he said, opening a gate and waving at her to walk through. "Technically,  
>we aren't supposed to leave campus either, but as long as you don't blatantly do it, no-one cares. They just ignore it."<p>

At that, Scully turned around and headed back up to the school.

"Come on, Scully, don't be a square!" Mulder called after her.

"Not wanting to break the rules on my first day does not qualify me as a 'square', Mulder," she said without turning around. "I'm going to go eat with Melissa." She hurried up as she heard him running to catch up with her.

He grabbed her arm and spun her around to look at him."Ok, Scully, we won't go in there, but please eat with me. If you don't, I'll eat the Dreamsicle!" he threatened.

*Please say yes, Scully*, he thought to himself. He had no idea how he'd become so attached to the small redhead, but he wanted her to eat with him, and was not above a little threat to get her to do so.

Scully sighed, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Fine. I guess it won't be too bad, if Bill won't be there. He would think I'd been murdered or something if I didn't show." She glared at him, then smiled.

"He's too overprotective, Scully. You're a big girl." He looked down at her, concidering. "Well, supposedly."  
>Scully punched his arm, hard. "Hey!"<p>

"I have an older brother, and my dad's in the Navy. Watch what you say, 'cause I CAN defend myself." She stuck her tongue out at him.

A/N Short chapter! Sorry!  
>But I'll try to update again today! Reviews will make for longer chapters!<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: HI! Sorry about not updating for a while again! I was going to post this yesterday, but I didn't have enough time; homeschool prom was yesterday. Our's was really fun, since we don't actually have a gym, there were about 50-100 homeschool kids packed into a nightclub called the Madison here in Austin. Now that I'm finished talking about complete rubbish stuff that no one reads anyway, here's the next chapter!

* * *

><p>"Thanks for agreeing to eat with me, Scully. Normally, I don't really mind eating by myself, but when the chance to actually have a life crops up, I don't like to waste it," he added, grinning wryly at her.<br>"You have a life, Mulder!" cried Scully.  
>"And you know how? You've known me for all of," he checked his watch. "Four hours."<br>"Everyone in school seems to know you. By my definition of the slang term, you have a life. And by the scientific definition you are alive, therefore you have a life. Unless you are undead?" she questioned, raising her eyebrow.  
>"Ok, ok, Scully, I have a life. How about we eat here?" he asked stopping by the stairs to the secondaty building. "Ok, Mulder," she responded as he flopped down on the steps and ate a gigantic bite of pizza.<br>"Whatcha bring?" he mumbled around the food.  
>"Salad, cheese, bread," she replied absentmindedly, rummaging through her bag, and withdrawing a fork.<br>"You a vegetarian?" he questioned.  
>"No, I wish, though. My dad won't let me. He says meat's good for you, and that I should be grateful we have it. I know he's right, but that doesn't mean I want to eat it." She grimaced.<br>"You know something, Scully?"  
>"I know many things, Fox Mulder. To which, if any, are you refering to?" she said sarcastically "Healthy food is boring," he stated, as if it should be obvious. She rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Scully! It's bland, and is never sweet or oily or garlicky or spicy. I know it is; my mom's on a health food kick." He leaned back and looked up at the sky.<br>_Should I tell her?_ he wondered. _She'll hear one version of events sooner or later, and I'd prefer she heard mine, and that she hears it from me._  
>"Mulder, close your eyes," commanded Scully, waking him from his revery. He did as he was told.<br>"Ok, now open your mouth." He felt something cold and hard press against his mouth.  
>"What are you-" he tried to get out, but before he finished, she shoved her fork into his mouth.<br>"Now, is that bland or boring, Mulder?" she demanded, as he made a face.  
>"I'm unsure. I believe I need a larger sample size to be certain," he said, grabbing her fork and stealing another bite of her salad.<br>"Nope! Definitely not tasteless!" He grinned up at her, suddenly noticing their physical proximity. She was sitting with her feet to one side of her, propped up on one arm, and he was lying across one step, his head resting nearly on her hand.  
>"Scully?" he said, suddenly serious.<br>"Yeah, Mulder?"  
>"Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be abducted? By, you know, one of them?" He gestured at the sky vaguely.<br>"No, as a matter of fact, I haven't. Why have you?" she inquired, confused.  
>"My-" he cleared his throat. "My sister disappeared when she was 8. No note or anything. I was only 12. It was only a few years ago."<br>"And you think she was abducted by aliens?" Scully asked skeptically.  
>"I don't know what I think, Scully. I have no memory of that night. I blocked it all out, the therapists say. Why am I telling you this?" he said, mostly to himself.<br>"I don't know, but I'm glad you trust me enough to do so, Mulder." He felt her hand tentatively brush his cheek and he smiled.

* * *

><p>Scully nervously ran her fingers along Mulder's cheekbone. <em>His skin is so soft...<em>  
>When he smiled, she grew bolder, and instead of withdrawing her hand, continued to trace the line of his cheek.<br>_What is wrong with me? I don't even know_ him!  
>"Hey Scully? You'd better finish eating," he said, sitting up again. "The bell rings in just a few minutes."<br>She grinned as he stuffed the rest of the pizza in his mouth.  
>"Don't choke!" she exclaimed, taking the last few bites of her salad and making a sandwich with her bread and cheese. "I can eat this and the Dreamsicle on the way there, and <em>you've<em> already finished!" she laughed as she stood up, watching Mulder shove the last bite of his cheesecake in his mouth. He grabbed his tray and they walked back to the main building.

* * *

><p>Mulder opened his mouth, but before he could start to talk, Scully cut him off. "Before you ask, I've got Latin II next, Mulder."<br>He smiled at her. "You read my mind, Scully. Once again, we're in the same class." He led her into the school and down the hall. "This is the language wing. We've got Latin, Spanish, French, and Russian."  
>"That's more than most high schools, isn't it?" Scully asked, out of a lack of anything else to talk about.<br>"Yeah, I guess. How much Latin do you know?"  
>"A bit. My old school offered Latin to kids as young as 6th grade, which is when I started. I'd be in Latin III, but the school board didn't think I'd be able to do the work. Mom had enough of a fight getting them to let me take Latin II."<br>"Well, no one in the class pays much attention, 'cept Tony, Rachelle, and me, so you'll have it really easy. Hopefully, he'll put you with us, and we can do stuff."

They walked into the classroom and Scully followed Mulder to the very back of the classroom and took the seat Mulder pointed to.  
>"Tony sits there," he pointed to his other side, "and Rachelle sits on your side." He leaned back in his chair.<br>"Mulder?"  
>"Yup, Scully?"<br>"You're going to-" CLANG "Fall."  
>The legs of his chair had slipped forward and he'd fallen backwards.<p>

"Are you ok?" Scully jumped out of her chair to help him up. Cursing under his breath, he stood up.  
>"Yeah, I'm fine, Scully. Just winded," he said hoarsely.<p>

Mulder sat gingerly back in his chair, smiling at Scully to try and reassure her that he was fine. It must have been more of a grimace, though, because it only served to make her more worried.

"Hey, Scully, look! Here come Tony and Rachelle!" he exclaimed, trying to distract the concerned girl. "Hey guys, come on over!" He waved at them.  
>"Rachelle, this is Dana Scully. She's a genius freshman who's making us all look bad, and today's only her first day!" he teased, making Scully blush slightly. <em>She's pretty cute when she's embarrassed.<em> "Scully, this is Rachelle Okoron. She, Tony, and I have been friends since middle school."  
>Shyly, Scully offered Rachelle her hand,<br>"It's nice to meet you, Dana!" Rachelle beamed at her. Mulder hoped the two of them would kick it off. Rachelle would keep Scully away from Sophia and Angua, or as he referred to them in the privacy of his mind, the Siamese Twins.

"Salve, Rachelle(Hello Rachelle[for those who know no Latin, translations will be provided])  
>"Salve, Dana! Scies Tonium?"(Hello Dana! Do you know Tony?)<br>"Ita vero. Mulder introducta nobis."(Yes. Mulder introduced us.) _Wow, I'm surprised she didn't switch back to English. She didn't even pause to think! _Mulder noted.  
>"So I'm the last one who gets to meet you? Mulder really needs to learn how to share. He's never liked sharing people's attention, Dana!" Rachelle teased. "Once he's got you, he'll never let you go!"<p>

She playfully hit him in the shoulder, causing him to grab her wrist. Scully tried to pry his hand off her new friend's arm, but Tony chose that moment to involve himself in the fun and grabbed her.

* * *

><p>Scully tried to pull away from Tony, but he just gripped her arms tighter, too tightly. Trying to not show the pain on her face, she tried once more to escape, but when he tightened his grip again, something must have shown on her face, because when Mulder looked up, he released Rachelle and tackled Tony, causing him to relax his grip on Scully just enough for her to pull away.<br>"You're hurting her, dude!" he said angrily as they both fell over on the floor. Although Scully had escaped before they fell, a stray leg knocked her back onto them, and a flailing limb caught her in the mouth...

* * *

><p>AN: YAY! Cliffhanger! I'm attempting to write some drama into this, because its gonna get boring otherwise. We've got a while till we get to the FBI. That's when the real fun begins!


	9. Chapter 9

The first thing Mulder saw after jumping on Tony's back was Scully toppling into the fray. Mulder's foot had hit her knee, and then to compound the damage, Tony, who had been flailing at Mulder in an attempt to knock him off his back, caught her in the mouth with his leg.  
>"Scully!" Mulder cried as she was knocked back onto the ground. He glared at Tony and rushed over to her.<br>She got up quickly, calming his fears that she'd been hurt badly. That is, until she turned to look at him "Scully? Come here, let me look," he asked calmly, holding his hand out to her.  
>She walked over to him, and he put his hand on her cheek, causing her to wince slightly.<br>"You've got some blood on your lip. Say 'ahh'!" he teased, trying to sound non-chalant. Secretly, he was beating himself up for letting her get hurt.  
>She glowered at him, then opened her mouth. He sighed in relief.<br>"You just bit your cheek, Scully."  
>"I think I could have told you that,had you actually *asked* me, Mulder." She turned away abruptly, sitting down beside Rachelle and turning her back to the boys.<br>Only then did Mulder realize that the entire class was staring at them. He glowered at them, and they all sheepishly returned to their abandoned conversations.

As soon as he and Tony had sat down, the teacher, Mr Smith, walked in. This was definitely Mulder's favourite class. He,  
>Tony, and Rachelle were way ahead of the rest of the class, so, as lng as they got their homework dont, the theacher pretty much let thm do whatever they want.<br>"Salvete, discipuli!"(Hello, students) said Mr Smith "Salve, magister," the class replied halfheartedly.(Hello teacher)  
>"We have a new student in class today. Could Dana Scully please stand?"<br>Slowely, she did. "Introduce yourself, in Latin, if you can."  
>"Salve. Meum nomen Dana Katherine Scully. Movi hic a Japan. Freshman sum. Duo fratres et unus sororem habeo," she said quickly, and sat back down. Once again, she'd rattled off the Latin without hesitation, Mulder noted, wondering if she really should be switched to a higher class. (Hello. My name is Dana Katherine Scully. I moved here from Japan. I am a freshman. I have two brothers and a sister.)<br>"Very good, Dana." Even the teacher was impressed, and he was *never* impressed with anything. "You may join Fox,  
>Rachelle, and Tony in their studies."<br>Mulder turned and grinned at her. "Good, you're with us. I knew you would be."  
>She smiled back, forgetting to be annoyed with him. "What are we working on?"<br>"Usually we just sit back here and talk. Rachelle assigns us things to do at home if we have really easy homework." Tony answered.

A/N: YAY another shortish chapter. But since this was actually suppposed to be one chapter in the handwritten rough draft, I'll leave it. Thanks to all of you who've favourited, suscribed, and reviewed! Please, do not hesitate to give suggestions or ideas. I have the next few chapters written out, but I'll try to incorperate anything you guys want! 


	10. Chapter 10

(This was page 42 in the handwritten draft. WOOO HITCH-HIKER'S GUIDE!)  
>DISCLAIMER: If I owned the X Files, you would all know.<p>

Mulder was, once again, pulling Scully down the hall, towards a classroom. _This last class, the Intro Band or whatever, must be pretty exciting. Mulder's more enthusiastic than ever, _Scully thought to herself as he dragged her down a more narrow hallway than most, and towards a door at the very end.

"Scully! Hurry up!" he exclaimed, tugging on her arm in a vain attempt to make her walk faster. "We're nearly there!"

When they reached the room, she hung back. "Mulder?"

"Yeah, Scully?"

"I'm pretty sure I was assigned to this class on accident. I can't play any instruments at all, and I didn't sign up for it."

He rolled his eyes. "Come on, Scully. We'll teach you how to play. And you have to have at least one Fine Arts credit your freshman year, and another in your junior year if you want to graduate with the Distinguished plan," he explained. "This is the only Fine Arts available seventh period."

"Oh. OK," she said, following his through the door.

It certainly didn't look like your typical high school band room. Instead of music stands and chairs arranged in the traditional semisircle, there were microphones and guitar stands scattered around the room, and a drum cage in one corner, with what appeared to be a full kit, with Scully's limited knowledge. Posters of bands and soundproofing lined the walls.

"Mulder," she asked uncertainly. "What sort of band is this?"

"Rock, of course! Isn't it obvious?" Suddenly, he wheeled around to face her. "Can you sing? We need a singer."

"Not really. I'd like to learn, but I just make horrible croaking noises when I try."

"Damn. Guess I'm stuck with it till we get your voice trained.(Yes, I know Scully can't sing, but I'm pretending its just because she hadn't ever had any voice training, for the story. It *is* an AU!)

"Can you play guitar?"

"Didn't I already say I couldn't play any instruments? I played around with a friend's once, but that's it."

Mulder turned back towards the mess of amps and cables in the back of the room, muttering to himself.

"Scully?" he called, "Could you grab the black and dark red Rickenbacker on the rack? You can use that for today, and I'll bring you one you can take home to practice on tomorrow."

She walked over to the rack he had indicated and grabbed the guitar. "Thanks, Mulder. Are you sure its ok for me to use this? It looks like a really nice guitar."

"Yeah, its fine. I've got a few others I can use." (Mulder's family is rich. I want his Rickenbacker... I have a link to it in my profile, if you're interested.)

She slipped the strap over her shoulder, and was surprised at how natural it felt. It was heavy, but it felt normal, more so than it had the last time she had tried.

"It's not too heavy for you, is it?" Mulder asked as he walked over to her.

"No, it's fine."

She started away from him as he put his arm around her, then relaxed when she realized that he was fixing the strap.

"Don't worry, Scully. The strap is adjusted to fit Kyle, since he used it last, and it's way too long for you." Even as he spoke, the guitar felt slightly lighter, because of the shortening of the strap.

He smiled down at her, causing her to grin back. "Where is everyone else? The bell went off a few minutes ago."

"They're always late. Now," he walked around behind her and adjusted the angle of the guitar. "Do you know any chords?"

"No. Sorry to be such a bother, with you having to teach me and all," she responded apologetically.

"Nonsense! Now I have a legitimate reason to make you come to my house, _and_ your parents can't complain about it, 'cause it's for school!" he joked, laughter evidently barely contained. "We probably won't get anything done today, since we're not starting a new song till tomorrow, but if you'd like, I'll come and get you tonight or tomorrow night and teach you some stuff?" he inquired.

"I'll have to ask my parents, but if they agree, I'd love to!"

A/N: Once again, this is a short chapter, but this is all that I have written up. I'll try to post once next week, but after that we have friends staying with us from out of town for two weeks, and then I have a chamber music summer workshop that is another two weeks. However, if any of you read Snape and Lily fanfics, a friend of mine and I are going to start one, alternating chapters, and the first chapter should be up in a week or so.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Sudenly, the door swung open, and the rest of the class swarmed in. The first people Scully noticed were a tall boy with a black mohawk that faded through the rainbow to white at the tips, dressed in tight black jeans and a torn black t-shirt, and a small, pale girl with raven black hair dressed in what appeared to be Victorian era clothes. She was wearing a black, low cut blouse with a black and red corset laced over it, and a black silk skirt with a overskirt of bloodred lace.

As Scully watched, the newcomers grabbed instruments and microphones and arranged themselves in a haphazard circle around Mulder and Scully, looking at them with interest.

"Hey guys!" exclaimed Mulder, without looking up from Scully's face. "Is anyone using the Vox amp?"**_ Now _**_he looks up, _thought Scully, blushing slightly from his intense scrutiny.

A chorus of no's prompted him to triumphantly break through the ring of onlookers and pull a large amp out from against the wall. "Scully, come over here. I've gotta plug in the guitar."

As she walked over, she could feel the entire room watching her. Mulder plugged the guitar in, and wheeled around to face the rest of the band.

"Everyone, this is Dana Scully. She's gonna join our 'class'." They continued to look at her as if she'd fallen from the sky as he continued the introductions.

"Scully, the guy in the neon orange shirt which clashes so _terribly _with his hair is Ryan. He's vocals and lead guitar." A guy with long auburn hair grinned at her.

"Mohawk here is Kyle, on pretty much anything we through at him: guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, or vocals." Kyle nodded at her, then winked.

"Rheena is the vampire from 1889, vocals, flute, and some rhythm guitar." She looked Scully over, then grinned, exposing two long, pointed fangs that jutted slightly over her lower lip. Scully shivered, but returned the otherwise friendly smile shyly.

Rheena cocked her head at Scully's shudder, then reached into her mouth and removed the fangs. "Sorry, I forgot I was still wearing them!" She smiled again. _She certainly doesn't fit **her** stereotype._

"James is the resident drummer," Mulder continued. A wiry guy with short brown hair gave her a thumbs up and sat down in the drum cage.

"Kyira and Brianne* are our other main vocals and simple rhythm department." Two identical girls waved cheerily at her. "And last, but not least we have Tom and Fred, rhythm guitar and bass." A taller guy with straggly black hair and an extremely tall guy with fuzzy blonde hair grinned at her, too. "And I appreciate you lot stopping the 'alienate the new girl' routine. It's unnecessary, you know," Mulder finished, causing everyone to laugh.

"Well, now that we've all gotten to know each other, let's get cracking, hmm?" Kyle grabbed a pick from his pocket and strummed a quick chord, checking the tuning, Scully presumed.

For the rest of the class, she tried to stay out of everyone's way, sitting on the amp Mulder had christened hers, and listening to the highly eclectic music that the group played. Mulder and Rheena both tried to get her to play or sing something, but she refused each time till they gave up.

After an hour, Kyle told everyone to pack up and go home, and Mulder helped her put everything back and led her out the door.

"What did you think, Scully? Cool, no?" he asked as they walked back to the front doors.

"Yeah, I didn't know that there were any schools with rock bands. It's much cooler than a marching band."

"Yep! Hey, Scully, I'd stick around, but my mom expects me home with the car today, so I must away!" he said with a dramatic flourish, then continued. "Wait for me outside on the stairs tomorrow morning, ok? I've got something I'd like to show you."

She looked up at him. "And what if I don't?" she asked, raising her eyebrow quizzically.

"I'll regret it, and _then _I won't talk to you in class till you beg my forgiveness!" He stuck his tongue out at her childishly, then ran into the parking lot.

She sat down and waited for Melissa or Bill to come by so she could go home. She tried to calculate how much time she'd have before dinner, and how much homework she could get done.

An incessant honking startled her from her mental arithmatic, and she looked up to see Mulder looking out the window of a black 1970 Cuda. "Don't forget to ask your parents about tomorrow, Scully!" he called.

"I won't!" she replied, and waved as he drove off.

"Hey, Danes, who was that?" asked Melissa, surprising Scully.

"Hmm? Oh, that was Mulder. He wants me to go over to his house so he can help me with something tomorrow."

"Oh does he?" Melissa asked skeptically. "Is that where you were at lunch today? Were you eating with him?" She smiled evilly at her sister. "Good for you, Dana. What grade is he in?"

"10th. And what do you mean, good for me?"

"I mean that its a good thing you're finally taking an interest in guys. And I thought he wasn't in your grade. Not nearly titchy enough."

"I'm not 'taking an interest' in Mulder. He just helped me get to my classes, and is very considerately helping me learn guitar for the rock band."

"So, let me get this straight, a hot sophomore guy goes out of his way to make sure you don't get lost, gets you to eat lunch with him, _and _wants to teach you guitar? Even if you aren't taking an interest, Dana, he is. And it is totally not fair that you got into the rock band. Come on!"

Scully smiled at her sister. "Can we go home now, Missy? I've got a towering pile of homework to do, including an entire paper that the rest of the class has been working on since last Friday, and I'm already exhausted." She dragged Missy over to the car, and they quickly drove home.

* * *

><p>Scully opened the door and stepped into the house, with Missy right on her heels.<p>

"How was your day, girls?" asked Maggie.

"Fine, Mom," responded Melissa, who headed up to her room, carrying her bag.

"What about you, Dana?" She turned to her youngest daughter.

"Not as bad as I thought it would be. I met some nice kids. Rachelle's really nice, she's in my Latin class." Scully set her bag down on the kitchen table and pulled out her homework. "I've got a lot of homework," she grimaced.

Maggie smiled gently. "Dinner should be ready by 7:30, dear. Don't work _too _hard." She walked into the kitchen.

_I wonder what Mulder's doing right now...,_ she thought to herself. _Mulder, wait a minute!_ She ran upstairs to her sister's room and knocked.

"Yeah, Danes? You can come in!"

"How do you always know it's me, Missy?"

"I'm magic. And you have a distinctive knock. You wanted something?"

"Yeah. Could you please not mention Mulder to Bill or Dad? Knowing them, they'll explode or something, and afterwards, Bill will probably beat the living daylights out of Mulder." She looked at her sister hopefully.

"Yeah, we don't want your future boyfriend getting beat up before he can actually ask you out! Don't worry, Dana, I won't."

"Thanks a million, Missy." Scully turned to leave.

"What about going over to his house, Danes? You will need to tell Mom and Dad."

"I'll ask them later, when Bill's not downstairs."

"Ok. Now let me go back to my book."

Scully walked out and shut the door. She bumped into Charlie, who was racing up the stairs two at a time.

"Hi, Dana! How was school?" he asked excitedly.

"Good, how about you? Have much homework?" she asked.

"Nope! And it was fun." He ran up to his room, and Scully headed back down the stairs.

* * *

><p>Dinner was uneventful, and Scully was too busy planning out what she was going to tell her parents to pay attention to the conversation around her. After it was over, and her siblings had gone upstairs to do homework, she walked over to her dad.<p>

* * *

><p>AN: CLIFFY! Thank you to all of you that have favourited or alerted or reviewed! If I have 25 reviews before July 15th(the first day I'll have a lot of free time after today), I'll try to get another chapter up! YAY bribes!  
>And if you have any suggestions or ideas on how the story should go, don't hesitate to leave them in a review, or PM me!<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Ahab?" Scully started.

"What is it, Dana?" he asked her gruffly, smiling in spite of his tone.

"A friend I made today wants me to go to his house tomorrow. He-"

"He?" Mr. Scully interrupted.

"Yes, father. His name is Fox Mulder, and he wants to teach me guitar, for a class." Scully was nervous; she hoped he'd let it go and give his permission, but she doubted it would happen without her mother's intervention.

"No. I will not have my daughter running around with some boy she met today. You should know better, Dana," he said with finality.

"William," interjected Maggie. "Are you sure she couldn't go? She does need to learn an instrument for this class." *Thank you, mom, for being a voice of reason,* thought Scully.

"Well, couldn't one of the girls in the class teach her? Or, if he *must* teach her, couldn't he do it at school?"

"There is no time at school, father. We both have a lot of work, and during band, he's too busy practicing the songs to teach me. And all the other girls do vocals, mainly." Scully knew that if she put it to her father as logically as possible, she would get it, because her mother had taken her side, but she was still worried.

"I think we should let her go, dear. Dana is too old for us to watch at all times, and she's got a good head on her shoulders," added Maggie.

"Well, since all you women are conspiring against me, I guess you can go, Starbuck. But call us when you get there, ok?" he acquiesced.

Scully broke into a grin. "Aye aye, captain."

"And dear, if he asks you to stay for dinner, I think we can manage without you for one day, right, William?"

Mr. Scully was silent for a moment, but then nodded. "But we do expect you to bring this Fox-"

"Mulder. He prefers Mulder to Fox," she interrupted.

"Ok then, this Mulder home for us to meet at some point. And he'd better pass muster if he wants to ask you out," he teased.

Scully turned pink, but smiled. "Ok, captain Scully, sir!"

"Now go finish your homework and go to bed, Starbuck."

* * *

><p>Scully blearily opened her eyes and slowly focused on her younger brother's face, hovering above hers. "Dana, are you getting up? We've got to leave in ten minutes!" he exclaimed.<p>

"What? Why didn't anyone wake me up?" she cried, jumping out of bed. She shoved Charlie out of her room and began to dress at lightning speed, then ran downstairs and grabbed a piece of toast.

"Melissa, why did you not wake me up?" she accused, hurriedly shoving her toast into her mouth and pouring herself some milk.

"You were up really late with homework, and Mom said to let you sleep for a bit longer. After that, I forgot. I'm not your bleeding alarm clock, you know, Danes."

"Ok, well, are you ready to go?" she demanded, not quite over her annoyance.

"No, I am not. Whatever are you in such a hurry for, Danes?" Melissa asked reasonably.

"Nothing. I just thought we had to leave. Did anyone make coffee? I'm not awake enough for school," she added quickly, not wanting anyone to know about her promised meeting with Mulder.

"Yeah, help yourself. And Dana, try not to stay up so late tonight. Do some homework while you're over at Mulder's house, ok?" added Maggie, walking in from the living room.

Melissa raised her eyebrows, but kept silent. The same, however, could not be said for Bill.

"Who is Mulder?"

"He's a friend of mine, _not _that it's any of your business."

"And you're going to his house after knowing him for one day? Does Dad know?" Bill asked skeptically.

"Yes he does, Bill. And it's for school. He's teaching me how to play music." She glowered at her brother, daring him to say anything about it.

"Well, I don't like it, and-"

"And you have no say in it, so shut up, Bill. Come on, Missy," she added as her sister stood up, and walked out the door.

* * *

><p>AN: LOOK! A new chapter! And only one person reviewed the last one... :( But you guys get another, because our friends who are staying with us are visiting other friends of theirs. Reviews motivate me to type more, and now you can vote for what happens next!

What will the thing Mulder wants to show Scully be?  
>Will it be:<p>

A) The Alcove, like he wanted to during lunch the day before

B) A secret thing _in_ the Alcove

C) Something of your choice

If you choose C, please include your choice, and if the majority of votes are C, I will choose my favourites of all the ideas! Valete! до свидания (pronounced "dasveedAnya")! Goodbye! Adieux!(I am a language nerd, if you hadn't already guessed. My parents won't let me take more than Latin, Ancient Greek, and Russian, though. :()


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I've been in a super intensive music workshop from 8:30 till 5 every day for the past week and a half, so I've had no time to write! This is going to be a short chapter, but I feel awful for not having written for a while.

Once Melissa had driven them to school, Scully jumped out of the car.

"Bye Missy!" she called over her shoulder as her sister walked into the smaller building. "I'll see you after school!"

She ran up the steps, looking around for Mulder, but she immediately noticed he wasn't there.

_Figures. He probably forgot, _she thought morosely, and sat down.

After a few minutes, she was about to go inside, but she was interrupted by someone's hand landing rather roughly on her shoulder.

"Hey, Scully! Sorry I was late, the mom was fussing again. I hope you haven't changed your mind!" he added, looking at her slightly annoyed expression.

"Oh, no, I haven't!" she quickly said, smiling suddenly. "I was afraid you had changed _you__r_ mind, actually."  
>She looked down at the ground shyly.<p>

"Silly Scully. Why would I abandon you?" He flung his arm around her shoulders casually. "Come on, we're going to the Alcove."

He led her off towards the fence that marked the edge of the school grounds, ignoring her slight protests.

"Come on, Scully. School hasn't started yet, and there is no rule against going back there. It's ok!"

She pretended to glare at him and began to walk away, but as soon as he grabbed her arm, she smiled teasingly.

"Gotcha! Ok, I'll go, but only because I'm curious as to what is so important that you are practically begging me-don't deny it-to go see!"

He grinned at the change of events and returned to dragging her towards the gate.

"Once again," he said as he opened said gate. "Dana Scully, welcome to the Alcove!"

She stepped through the exit, and slowly turned around, taking in the clearing in the woods behind the school.

"Wow, Mulder, this place is really cool! How'd you find it?" she asked.

"I used to live in the house behind here, before Samantha-" he quickly stopped talking.

"Before she was abducted?" she asked gently, walking over to him. He nodded.

"She and I played her all the time. You, Tony, and Richelle are the only people besides her I've ever shown this to. I know other people probably come back her, but no one else knows its importance." He sat down on a large boulder and patted the space next to him. "Don't be shy, Scully. I _probably _won't bite you."

She sat down tentatively beside him. "So what was the secret you wanted to show me? You implied it was something more than this," she encouraged.

He nodded. "Here, I'll show you." He knelt down beside a pile of rocks and sticks, and fiddled with the front, which suddenly opened up, and out came-

"Oh!" she exclaimed. A tiny kitten walked out of the cleverly disguised cage. It was a shiny blue-black, with very blue eyes. "It's adorable! Why is it back here?" she added, worried for the animal.

"My parents aren't overly fond of pets, especially cats. I rescued her from a fox that lives on the other side of town. I'd have given her to the Humane Society or something, but she is afraid of almost everyone else but me." True to his word, the kitten had crouched down and was hissing at Scully.

"What's her name?"

"Kali. It's the name of a Hindu goddess. She was the wife of Shiva, and it means 'black', so I thought it was appropriate." He smiled, then bent down to pick up the diminutive kitten.

Scully jumped off the rock and walked over to him, holding her hand out for the cat to sniff. When Kali hissed, she stood her ground, not even jumping at the anger contained within.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Kali," she said, firmly but gently, and slowly moved her hand closer to Kali, until her fingers just barely brushed the kitten's soft head.

* * *

><p>Mulder watched Kali carefully, ready to pull away if she tried to bite the girl, but she just stayed very still as Scully gently stroked her head.<p>

"Wow, Scully. Not even Rachelle managed to pet her this long," he said after a few moments.

She smiled distractedly. "I like cats. Dogs, no, but cats are nice."

* * *

><p>AN: Yeah, this is short. I'm truly sorry. I've got a barbeque to go to soon, and I have to get ready for it. I realized something today, though(not that you people care). At public schools, I'm Scully, but at home, I'm Missy! Totally random, but whatever.

I will be back to normal in a little bit, after the 14th, when my workshop ends. Until then, review, and if you like Luna/Harry or NextGen Harry Potter fics, check out my stories Bittersweet and Falling, respectively.(And no, I'm not above advertising my other stories on my fics. :D) Ad, please don't favourite or story alert without reviewing. I need feedback, so I know how to fix my problems.

Now, to anyone who actually read that entire thing, have some cookies!


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